"I will do everything in my power to keep graffiti from taking root in our beautiful city," City Manager Pat West said.

"The City of Long Beach has an excellent graffiti removal program, and I encourage everyone in the community, including all city employees, to report graffiti whenever they see it throughout our city," West added.

In late 2006, the City of Long Beach hired a contractor with five specially equipped trucks to respond to the graffiti hotline: This contractor also patrols and proactively eliminates graffiti from city property and from private property accessible from a public right-of-way, such as the wall of a residence or business adjacent to a street or alley, the article stated.

The contractor, Graffiti Protective Coatings (GPC), can water-blast, air-blast or paint out graffiti found on stucco, concrete, block walls and wood and can color-match paint or other surfaces to a high degree of accuracy, the article noted.

According to the article, GPC crews are also available for emergency service 24/7, and a 6th GPC truck is now dedicated to removing graffiti from the City''s parks and marinas.